cascade | kotlc

26. Vespera's Future

 huge exposition dump be warned

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"So," June muttered to Biana, cornering her in Sophie's room. Faye and Fitz filed in behind her, and Tam stepped in too, locking the door with a click. "What did you find in those journals?"

"I don't think I should tell you," she whispered. "I can't tell Sophie."

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"It really is..." Biana strode over to the windowsill and threw it open, breathing in the fresh spring air with the scent of the Panakes. "If I tell you, you can't tell Sophie."

"I won't," she promised. "But we need to know."

"Don't make me regret this."

Tam went over to hug his girlfriend and Biana let him run his hand down her waist as she hesitantly drew up Calla's ring, before she adjusted a small knob, projecting a series of text in the room.

"Alright." Biana closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I..."

"Here," Tam said gently, massaging his hand as if he was a chef sprinkling salt. Shadows gathered above his fingertips, misty and indistinct, like the unconnected parts of a Phaser. The air turned chillier and cool wintry storms blasted through the open window. It wasn't cold per say, but it was a very comfortable breeze that seemed to freeze away all their worries.

"Okay, you need to teach me how to do that," June murmured to Tam as he shoved the blotches of shadows down Biana's throat. She hacked for a bit before she gulped, swallowing and leaving puffy breaths in the air. A dreamy expression took over her face.

"Woah," she whispered, like she was daydreaming. Calla's ring glittered excitedly around her, a spring storm of pollen and brume dancing as snowflakes in a snowstorm. The holographic files before her rearranged, sorting chronologically, and text flashed before a .zip folder swallowed all the .txt files and returned a single pdf.

"This is a new level of clarity," Biana mumbled, hazily tracing her finger over the small of her arm. Tam smiled, embracing his girlfriend, and Faye pretended to gag while Fitz grunted. June shushed both of them and Faye rolled her eyes. Fitz pecked her on the cheek.

"Anyway," Biana said abruptly, gently extracting herself from Tam's arms and strolling over to the file, briskly waving her hand like the elvin history Foxfire mentors and pulling out a chair, sitting down and crossing her legs. "First, the symbol. See these curls?"

The symbol in question, the curly strand of a new branch engraved upon the briefcase and the journals, shimmered and appeared midair. Biana snapped her fingers and the symbol dissected, breaking down into separate arcs and swapping.

"These are ancient runes," Biana explained. "And these spell 'Vespera.'"

"Who's Vespera?" June, Faye, Fitz, and Tam asked at the same time.

"The name of the prisoner in Lumenaria. Tam, you should know -- you saw her. But for everyone else, here."

Viridescent light flickered and a portrait illuminated the back wall. June studied the female, noticing the way her slender cheek tilted up arrogantly, the way her narrowly slitted eyes could pierce through metal, the way her headpiece's meshed net draped before her temples. She was beautiful but shockingly pale, somewhat similar to Faye. Faye looked insulted.

"I'm much hotter than that idiot," she heard Faye mutter under her breath.

"Yes, of course," Biana agreed amiably, leaning on her chair and against Sophie's desk. "But this is Vespera Neci Folend -- and by the way, you have no idea how much digging it took to find that name. Seriously. The Councillors' technology for wiping away Forbidden Secrets is on point. But forget that." She shook her head. "This is the person that built Nightfall. And..."